European Union News - Research & Innovation

Two new European projects, AMITRAN ('Assessment methodologies for ICT in multimodal transport from user behaviour to CO2 reduction') and INGOS ('Integrated non-CO2 greenhouse gas observation system') launched with the aim to investigate how to measure greenhouse gases.

The new venture capital investment programme launched by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for early and growth stage companies operating in technology sectors, is a commitment to technology financing in the EBRD region. The programme, which includes a €100 million capital pool, will approximately invest in 10-20 companies in the region over the next four years and will seek to invest alongside leading local and international venture capital investors.

The NEUROSTEMCELL ('European consortium for stem cell therapy for neurodegenerative disease') project, which investigates in maximising prospects for successful clinical trials of stem cell therapy for neurodegenerative diseases, has made many progress so far and at the same time it is considering the regulatory, ethical and societal issues linked to the use of stem cells for therapy.

Thanks to the MARINET 'Marine renewables infrastructure network' initiative, companies from countries FP7 countries will access to test facilities in specialist marine renewable energy centres across Europe. This initiative funded with €9 million Euro, will help remove some of the financial barriers that sometimes stand in the way of access to world-class European testing facilities.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) launched two initiatives which are aimed at preserving and upgrading skills in the nuclear field in the EU. According to JRC, the initiatives are approved because trends such as workforce ageing and phasing out of nuclear power plants in some EU Member States could jeopardize important knowledge on nuclear maintenance and preservation if no action is taken.

On 21 December, the European Commission presented a proposal for a Council Decision on the adoption of a Supplementary Research Programme for the ITER project for the period 2014-2018. This proposal aims to define the funding arrangement for the EU contribution to the ITER project for that period.

A German-US team of scientists has demonstrated how threshold values for wildfires exist and could help to set standards in order to improve predictions about how and when these fires can change. These findings put forward by EU-funded project PATRES may also help to reconsider fire fighting strategies.

In order to provide an answer for the call from stakeholders to substantially simplify the European research framework programme, the Directorate General Enterprise and Industry commissioned a benchmarking and impact assessment study. As a result some overall benefits have been identified in providing output based funding that could lead to better results and support the achievement of FP7 and FP8 policy objectives.

An independent Identification Committee is consulting the research community in Europe on potential candidates for membership of the ERC Scientific Council. Contributions to this consultation should be sent by the 30 March 2012.

A new EU-funded study has uncovered the specific gene that must be present before malignant melanoma can spread. Earlier studies using cancer cell lines implicated P-Rex1 in prostate, breast and ovarian cancer, but this is the first time it has been shown to be involved in the metastasis of melanoma.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission has made public the list of denaturants that could be used to make alcohol unfit for human consumption following the addition of another element to it. With this harmonisation, the Commission seeks to mitigate both fraud and tax evasion practices related to alcoholic beverages.

This guide is the culmination of a two-year project to assess existing guidance in drug prevention and to meet the need for a commonly agreed European framework to improve it in the European Union. Over 400 international, European and national experts and stakeholders contributed to developing the standards via a dynamic process involving focus groups, consultations and studies.